Broom hanger and guard



July 27, 1965 A. BURROWS 3,197,169

BROOM HANGER AND GUARD Filed Oct. 9, 1963 F l G. l INVENTOR.

ALLEN BURROWS BY 774x ATTOREY United States Patent 3,197,169 BRQOMHANGER AND GUARD Allen Burrows, 38 James St, Providence, RI. Filed Oct.9, 1963, Ser. No. 314,995 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-359) My present inventionrelates to household items and more particularly to a novel constructionof a broom hanger and guard.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device forattachment to a conventional broom handle to allow the broom to be hungfrom a hook.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forattachment to a broom handle which will also act as a guard to preventmarring wall-s or other areas against which the broom is allowed tolean.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combinationbroom hanger and guard which can easily be attached to any type ofconventional broom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a conventionalbroom handle and guard which can be molded in a single integral piece.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a combinationbroom handle and guard which is simple in construction and easy andeconomical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, myinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appendedclaim.

-In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a broom with a combination broom handleand guard of the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the broom hanger and guard ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the, same taken generally along line 33on FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 4-4 on FIG. 2.

Closet areas are conventionally cluttered by all types of brooms so thatthe door area of the closet is difiicult to use for storage purposes.This can be corrected by providing means for hanging brooms. Small whiskbrooms are usually provided with bail handles. However, large elongatedbrooms and mops are not provided with any handles. The present inventionis designed to provide a device which can readily be attached to anyconventional broom which will render the broom capable of being hungaway from the floor and which will also protect walls and Wallpaper fromdamage when the broom is leaned against the wall. The device of thepresent invention is made in a single integral piece and designed tofrictionally clamp the broom handle. Referring to FIG. 1 the broom 19 isequipped with an elongated handle 11 at the top of which is a device ofthe present invention 12 adapted to make the hanging of the broom as onthe book 13 shown in dotted lines. It is contemplated that the member 12be molded in a single integral piece from an elastomeric material suchas a plastic or rubber. Comparatively thin side walls 14- provided withspaced strengthening ribs 15 to provide a certain amount of stiffness tothe material. The inside diameter of the side walls 3,197,169 PatentedJuly 27; 1965 "ice 14 be such that the member 12 will fit loosely over aconventional broom handle 11. However, the internal portion of the sidewalls 14 is molded with a plurality of fins 16 beginning at a pointslightly above the open bottom end 17 and extending upwardly as shown inFIG. 3. The fins 16, as shown enlarged in FIG. 4, are provided withstraight walls 18 on one side and curved walls 19 on the other so thatwhen the member 12 is placed over the end of a broom handle a twistingmotion can be imparted which will have a tendency to flatten the fins16-slightly and permit it to be slipped over the broom handle. Also thefins 16 will frictionally grab the broom handle to hold it but willpermit removal of the member 12 by a twisting motion. The bottom end ofthe fins 16 taper as at 20 in FIG. 3, so that as the member 12 is pushedover the end of the broom handle the frictional pressure is led into thefins 16.

Now referring to FIG. 3, the upper end of the member 12 is domed as at21 and the domed portion is provided with a central opening 22 to allowthe air to escape as the member 12 is pushed over the end of the broomhandle and also to allow air to enter when the member 12 is removed fromthe broom handle. Otherwise, an air lock will develop which will make itdiflicult to put on and take off the member. Molded integrally with thetop portion 21 is a bail handle 23 for hanging the broom on a hook in acloset. Also molded adjacent the top portion circumferentially of thedome portion 21 are a series of outside fins 24 protruding beyond thecircumference of the body portion 14 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The fins24 are designed to provide a bumper against which the broom handle restswhen the'broom is leaned against a wall. This also acts to save the wallor wallpaper from scratches or other markings from the broom.

As can readily be seen the entire construction can be molded in a singleintegral piece. The bail handle 23 permits the broom to be hung. Theportion 24 protects it in case it is leaned against a wall. The internalportion is so constructed that it will frictionally grip the broom andhold it in raised position from the floor. By molding the device in asingle integral piece, all assembly is eliminated and the device can besold immediately as it comes from the mold. The construction istherefore simple and economical.

While the above description and the drawings specifically illustrate theinvention applied to a broom handle it is obvious that it can also beused for hanging mops, garden tools, and small tools having woodenhandles such as files. Another advantage in molding the device in onepiece is that it allows the broom or tool to be hung with one hand. Ifthe bail handle 23 were loose, two hands would be required to hang thebroom. The internal fins also allow for variations in the diameter ofthe handle and act like friction springs to apply a gripping pressure tothe handle. Other advantages of the present invention will be readilyapparent to a per-son skilled in the art.

I claim:

A broom handle attachment comprising an elongated sleeve of elastomericmaterial having an open bottom the internal diameter of said sleevebeing loosely equal to the diameter of a conventional broom handle, anintegral top closure on said sleeve having a central opening, anintegral loop extending upwardly from the top edge of said sleeve forhanging said attachment and broom, and a plurality of spaced integralribs extending vertically on the inside surface of said sleeve from theupper end to a point spaced from the bottom edge, said ribs havingtapered bottom ends for leading onto the end of a broom handle, saidribs having a triangular cross-section with the apices extending towardthe center to form a restricted diameter smaller than the diameter of abroom handle, one sideof each of said ribs being flat and in alignmentwith a radius of said attachment wherebyrsaid ribs will bend laterallyto increase the diameter of the opening when said attachment is pushedover a broom handle with a twisting action, said ribs bearingresiliently againstsaid broom handle to frictionally retain said broomhandle in said attachment.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Ubellar 24256Fuller 248188.9 Hokanson 287l26 Ryland et al 248-459 Hibbard 24-256Heyer 292-70 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

